Meet our 2025 Young Woman Engineer of the Year Award winners
On 11 December 2025, we were delighted to host our Young Woman Engineer of the Year awards ceremony at IET London: Savoy Place. There, we announced our incredible winners and celebrated the excellence and innovation that women engineers and technologists bring to the UK. Get to know them below:
Young Woman Engineer of the Year 2025 – Jennifer Barry, Senior Systems Engineer at SSTL
Jennifer represents the UK internationally on space sustainability. She has led UK delegations to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), and presented her work at the UN, and contributed to the ESA’s Zero Debris initiative. Her work as the Payload Systems Lead at the UK Space Agency involves technical insight, assuring quality standards, leading research and development initiatives, and project management. She also co-led a team that delivered over 530 hours of STEM outreach to students, earning her an invitation to the Youth in Aviation and Aerospace parliamentary reception at the House of Lords
WES Prize Winner – Amy Dillon, Principal Engineer at Design ID
Amy is a bridge builder - quite literally! As Associate Engineer at Design ID, a civil and structural engineering consultancy, she has been integral to many critical infrastructure projects, including the Northern Spire bridge in her hometown of Sunderland. She’s also the driving force behind The Big Bridge, the STEM outreach initiative that brings a 13-metre-long buildable bridge to schools and community events across Northern Ireland and Ireland. It has reached over 4,000 students to date, with a focus on introducing girls from less advantaged backgrounds to engineering via hands-on experiences.
Mary George Memorial Prize Winner – Rachel Donaghey, Service Introduction Manager at NATS
Rachel drives strategic improvements. In the two roles she has held at NATS, she has redesigned workflows that streamlined the safety and assurance process by 50%, developed new guidance, enhanced collaboration, and supported consistency. She works closely with project teams to ensure operational safety in a 24/7 environment, planning and overseeing new systems, equipment, and software in and out of service. As a person with dyslexia, she is proud to have proven to herself and others that she can excel in a space she once felt excluded from.
Vince Pizzoni has mentored and sponsored thousands of engineers in his 40+ year career, dedicating himseld to inspiring future generations to pursue careers in STEM.
He serves as a Trustee, Non-Executive Board Member, and Ambassador for several organisations championing diversity and inclusion, including Male Allies UK, the Women in Engineering Society, Female Leaders in STEM Subjects, POWERful Women, MyBigCareer (a charity supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds), and the South Shropshire Multi-Academy Trust. He also mentors Ukrainian businesswomen through the Progressiya initiative and supports women in tech via the Cajigo group.
Vince’s commitment to allyship and mentorship has earned him numerous accolades, including the Chairman’s Award as Global General Manager of the Year at Suez, the Davidson Medal 2024 from the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), the TechWomen100 2024 Award for Gender Balance, and the Men as Allies 2024 Award from the Women’s Engineering Society.